The Gone Pebble Shop
by RiverCookie
Summary: A traveling Pokemon merchant shares some tidbits about his little shop.


I sell rocks.

…No, wait, that's a terrible way to start talking about what I do, let me try that again. I sell Gone Pebbles.

You don't know what those are? Well, good thing I'm here to tell you, then. Have you heard of Lookalike Items? They're those items you find that masquerade as other things. For example, perhaps you're on your last legs in a terrible mystery dungeon, so you reach into your bag to pull out what you think is an Oran Berry to restore your health. Oblivious to the lack of an "a" and an addition of an "e", you bite into its juicy fruit flesh, and then wonder what happened and why you're sitting outside the dungeon with no money, no items, and a horrible headache. Or perhaps you've been using many of your Reviver Seeds in a particularly tough tussle with someone out there. You're down to your last one, and once you're knocked out for the umpteenth time, it restores your energy – and then you keel over again from laughing so hard at the "s" in its name you overlooked.

…Those were bad examples. There are many helpful Lookalike Items out there! The Gone Pebble, for example, is a Lookalike Item for the Geo Pebble, the thing you throw at people. The Gone Pebble, though, isn't designed for such a rough application. It's to help you in times of need. When you hold it, it brings a dear memory to your mind and gives you the strength to keep trudging forward. It's not just something you can use in dungeons, no, it's also something you can use while you're curled up in front of a warm campfire and you're thinking about the past.

It's difficult to find those things, but I accepted the task! Every day, I go out to the various dungeons and scour their interiors for this precious treasure. It's often difficult to find, especially in rocky places, but that nostalgic aura is unmistakable. I can always find one or two on my way. Once I gather a good amount of them, I head to the places on my map where these Gone Pebbles are never found. I don't sell them for too much, since I have no great need for money. There isn't much that I need that I couldn't find on my journeys. I can find sustenance along the way, and can consider a piece of rock a comfortable place to spend the night. I only need the smiles of my patrons.

Some Pokemon say that my merchandise is stupid. Why sell these plain pebbles at all? They want their Power Bands, their Foe-Fear Orbs, their Protein drinks, and all those things, not just dull rocks. I would have thought these rocks were useless as well, if not for the things that happened to me a great many years ago.

I once belonged to such a loving exploration team. We would head out every day with smiles on our faces and come back laughing. Those days were wonderful, every one of them. But one day, after one very, _very_ unsuccessful exploration, that wonderful team was gone. I wandered listlessly for years, eventually having wallowed in my grief for so long that I could barely remember why I continued to travel. And then I found a strange-looking rock on the ground. The memories it brought back reminded me how joy felt and why I must keep living.

One of my customers was a timid-looking Pidgeotto. She'd once been a champion of flying, soaring through the clouds and loving every moment. The results of a terrible accident, however, had caused her to lose her love for the skies. After falling into despair over this, she came to me for a Gone Pebble to help lift her spirits. That day, I watched her spread her wings and take flight again.

There have been many more encounters like this that I've had. Some walk away renewed, some merely smile a little and leave, and others run off filled with creative energy. I love to learn of others' lives, and to share their joys and sorrows. To me, wealth and fame is nothing in the face of the glory of others' lives.

Some days, I reflect on all of this, holding a Gone Pebble all the while. I think of the sunset, and the ones I used to watch it with. I think of the smiles and the tears I've seen. But that's only something to remember. There are so many more lives to change, so many more experiences to be had!

So, would you like to buy?


End file.
